East Catholic High School junior Madi Hayes spent part of her summer sharpening her photography skills in London.

Hayes, a 16-year-old from South Windsor, was one of 18 students across the country selected to take part in National Geographic's expedition to London to learn from photographer Gianluca Colla, one of the program's experts.

Hayes said she became interested in photography when she took a class designed for middle school students at Manchester Community College a few years ago. This past winter she got her first professional camera.

"I like that it's capturing a moment in time," Hayes said. "Different pictures can change your perspective on things. And that was the whole point of the expedition, changing people's perspective on London."

That meant that Hayes and the other students on the trip were to photograph famous London tourist sites, such as Big Ben and the London Eye, but make those often-photographed icons look different.

"We took your London touristy places and went up close and did different shots above and below it," Hayes said.

The 11 days Hayes spent in London in July were a combination of learning skills and techniques from Colla and touring the sites. Mornings were for education and the rest of the day allowed Hayes to hone her skills.

"I learned how to take more unique shots because they showed you how to work with angles and lighting, especially during the night shooting," Hayes said.

The main challenge, once Hayes learned those skills, was to make sure every photo gave a strong sense of London.

"We would go out and they would take us to the places we were focusing on," Hayes said. "Every picture we had to take was giving a sense of London. That was the challenge. You have to make sure there's the right balance in the picture. And you have to make it look interesting."

Though Hayes isn't sure if she wants to make photography a career, she's currently adding it to her extracurricular activities right now. In addition to playing in the orchestra, being on the Model United Nations and working with the technical crew for school plays, Hayes has started to take photos for the school's student newspaper.

At the end of the trip, the students displayed their work in a gallery setting. Hayes said she's looking forward to using her new skills at home and at her school.